Description of Historic Place

The Kilpin Residence is a one and one-half storey house, with full basement, located along Semlin Drive in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The Edwardian-era residence features a partial width wrap-around verandah, stained and leaded glass windows, and a crenellated stone perimeter wall.

Heritage Value

Constructed in 1911, the Kilpin Residence is valued for its connection to the development of the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver, for its history of ownership, and for its Edwardian architecture.

The Kilpin Residence illustrates the economic prosperity of Vancouver through the Edwardian era. Neighbourhoods including Grandview-Woodland grew substantially through the era as capital flowed into the young city, connected to a resource boom across the province. The Grandview neighbourhood (originally known as Grand View Hill) quickly became home to many of Vancouver's newly successful investors as the extension of the streetcar line east to Commercial Drive (then Park Drive) and south along Commercial opened up the area to development. By the height of the pre-war construction boom in 1912, many lots in Grandview boasted large, single family homes, such as the Kilpin Residence on Semlin Drive.

English-born Charles Kilpin Sr. built this house as his family home in 1911, remaining here until 1920. Kilpin was known as skilled local craftsman, responsible for the construction of various houses and apartment buildings throughout Vancouver. Following the Kilpins, the house was occupied by shoe store owner, Harry Wilson and his wife Susie, who lived here until 1968. In 1987 the house was purchased by Doug Bennett, lead singer of the popular Vancouver band, Doug & The Slugs; Doug and his wife, Nancy, remained here for ten years. The history of ownership of the Kilpin Residence is illustrative of the evolution of the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood over the past one-hundred years.

The Kilpin Residence is also valued as a good example of eclectic Edwardian architecture in Vancouver. The house also displays some refined components related to the Arts and Crafts style, such as its diamond-pattern leaded glass and floral motif stained glass windows. Typical of the Edwardian era, the house features wood-frame construction and finishes, including shingle cladding and decorative brackets, that together reflect the abundance of local wood products. In addition to its refined aesthetic, the raised position of the house and its location on corner lot enhance its prominence.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Kilpin Residence include:

- location along Semlin Drive in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood of Vancouver;
- siting on the lot with side gardens, and its orientation to Semlin with a wide side yard;
- continuous residential use;
- residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one and one-half storey height with full basement and front-gabled roof with gabled wall dormer with inset sleeping porch on the south elevation, and main floor set significantly above grade;
- wood-frame construction with cedar shingle cladding;
- Edwardian architectural features, including: partial-width verandah on the front elevation that wraps around the south elevation with original trim board along the top edge; offcentre inset sleeping porch on the second storey of the front elevation; triangular brackets
- along gabled roofline and along projecting hipped roof above main level front elevation window assembly and main level south elevation window assembly; bargeboards; and wooden window frames and projecting window sills;
- variety of original wooden window assemblies, including double-hung and casement assemblies, some single, paired, or tripartite; some assemblies feature diamond patterns of leaded glass, stained glass upper sashes or stained glass transoms;
- wooden front door assembly (off-elevation) with main door with central light with stained glass and half-height sidelights with stained glass, and other original door assemblies, including balcony doors, featuring central lights and leaded glass; and
- crenellated stone retaining wall along the site's perimeter.